Garden Pests

Common Garden Pests

You plant a nice garden, you see sprouts and buds and birds and butterflies. Then suddenly,
the wrong crowd shows up. Slugs, ants, mites, and other nasty critters treat your plants as if
they were a tray of hors d'oeuvres. Here are a few of the more common uninvited guests you'll
find in your garden and what to know about them.

Slugs

Slugs are never going to win any beauty contests. There are over 30 species of these slimy
creatures. They seek out damp, cool places to hide. Lift a rock or a piece of wood in your
yard, and you might see a few. Slugs are active for two hours after sunset and two hours before
sunrise. They munch on seedlings and ornamental plants, but they particularly love hostas. If
you see large round holes in your plants' leaves, you're looking at the remains of a slug
feast.

Spider Mites

Spider mites are like little garden vampires. They bite and suck the fluids out of your
plants. They can leave white or yellow spots on foliage, or even kill the entire plant. If you
can't see them, look for fine silk webbing on your plants.

Aphids

These sap-sucking insects can weaken your plants. They can pass diseases from one plant to
the next, and generally stunt your plants. Look for them under leaves and flowers. While they
have natural predators, you can protect your plants from aphids with several products.

Ants

Ants seem to be everywhere in the summer. You'll see mounds in the yard, and little columns
of them marching across your patio. Of course, it's no fun seeing them in the kitchen. While
they usually don't get beyond the nuisance level, they can contaminate food. If you have
carpenter ants, they can eat away at wooden structures in your yard, such as decks and
furniture.

Fire Ants

If you live in the south, these creatures can make being in the yard miserable for your
family and pets. They're very aggressive, and will defend their nests against everything. If
the nests are threatened, they might just relocate - to another part of your yard. If you
haven't been bitten but suspect that you have fire ants, look for large, hard mounds in your
yard.

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